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Haryana: Potato growers suffer losses as wholesale prices crash to ₹4 per kg
As per reports from the potato growing belts of Kurukshetra, Karnal and Yamunanagar districts, farmers have suffered huge financial losses as the prices have come down to below ₹400 per quintal. The fall in the wholesale prices of potatoes at the beginning of the harvesting season has hinted at another worst year for growers in the state.
The fall in the wholesale prices of potatoes at the beginning of the harvesting season has hinted at another worst year for growers in the state.
As per reports from the potato growing belts of Kurukshetra, Karnal and Yamunanagar districts, farmers have suffered huge financial losses as the prices have come down to below ₹400 per quintal.
Due to the lack of buyers in mandis, farmers are being forced to sell their produce at ₹350 to ₹400 per quintal. Farmers alleged that the prices have come down from ₹1,200 to ₹1,500 a quintal two weeks ago, soon after the harvesting of the early varieties started.
Due to the fall in the prices, farmers said they were not even able to earn the input cost which is around ₹55,000 per acre, including the rent of the field, as most of the tenant farmers take fields on rent for six months to grow potatoes.
“The fall in the prices at the beginning of the harvesting season is a bad sign as it may come down further when the harvesting will be at the peak in the next few weeks,” said a potato grower, Anuj Kumar of Ladwa in Kurukshetra district.
Moreover, farmers are also complaining about the poor yield as they said the crop was badly affected due to heavy rains at the time of sowing in October and November.
“I have harvested potato crop on two acres and earned just ₹75,000, whereas the input cost on this land was around ₹35,000 per acre. Not only the prices have come down but also the yield has declined to around 50 quintals from an average of 70-80 quintals,” said another potato grower, Sher Singh of Radaur in Yamunanagar district.
Traders attributed the fall in the prices to poor demand in Bihar and other states and most of the potato is being exported to mandis in Delhi where the prices have come doen to around ₹5 per kg.
“Most of the traders from Haryana and Punjab transport potato to Bihar and Delhi. But this year the traders in Bihar not showing interest as the harvesting has also started in Bihar which is the key reason behind the fall in the prices as traders in Delhi cannot buy the entire produce,” said a potato trader, Rajkumar of Kurukshetra.
Traders said harvesting has begun early this year as most of the potato growers are emptying their fields to sow wheat following a surge in the prices of wheat and fodder.
“Farmers used to harvest 50% of the crop in December and January and the remaining 50% in March, but this year most of the farmers have harvested the entire crop to sow wheat. This is also a key reason behind the drop in the prices,” said a commission agent, Pyara Lal.
This is the second consecutive year that the potato growers are suffering losses as last year also, they had to sell their produce below ₹500 per quintal.
However, the Haryana government had announced the ‘Bhavantar Bharpai Yojana’ to compensate for the difference in the situation of farmers selling the crop at lower prices than the fixed price. But farmers said the base price of ₹5 per kg fixed by the government does not cover the production cost and it should be increased to ₹10 per kg.
